#OpenGov, #OpenData and meaningful government reform finally hits Los Angeles via Control Panel L.A., a powerful website that opens city finances to quick, easy online public scrutiny, with extensive detail on how City Hall collects and spends billions of tax dollars; Plus, there's an expanded version of CompStat to track neighborhood problems online; Dear Santa... I want THAT!

#OpenGov, #OpenData and meaningful government reform finally hits Los Angeles via Control Panel L.A., a powerful website that opens city finances to quick, easy online public scrutiny, with extensive detail on how City Hall collects and spends billions of tax dollars; Plus, there's an expanded version of CompStat to track neighborhood problems online; Dear Santa... I want THAT!

L.A. controller unveils website to make city finances more transparent http://t.co/yXWOvzbIne
— Paul Pringle LATimes (@PringleLATimes) October 24, 2013

Los Angeles financial data is now searchable online at http://t.co/gEAmMMduDR #opendata
— LA Mayor's Office (@LAMayorsOffice) October 23, 2013

Congratulations City of LA for going #OpenGov! https://t.co/eCp4YYbDrN @RonGalperin @ericgarcetti #gov20 #gov20la
— Alan W. Silberberg (@IdeaGov) October 23, 2013

Fun fact from #ControlPanelLA: 622 City of Los Angeles employees make more than @ericgarcetti's annual salary of $200,568.58 as Mayor.
— Highland Park (@HLP90042) October 23, 2013

"This isn't just about transparency, it's about revolutionizing the way our city does it's financial reporting." - @RonGalperin @atvn
— Tara Campbell (@tarapcampbell) October 23, 2013

Los Angeles Times
L.A. controller unveils website to make city finances more transparent
The website gives the public access to a huge volume of data on taxpayer expenditures for police, sanitation, street repairs and other services.
By Michael Finnegan and Ben Welsh
October 24, 2013

Los Angeles' new controller moved Wednesday to open city finances to quick and easy public scrutiny online, unveiling a website with extensive detail on how City Hall collects and spends billions of dollars.

The website, Control Panel L.A., gives users access to a huge volume of data on taxpayer expenditures for police, sanitation, street repairs and other services — information that previously would have taken weeks or months to get through formal requests for records.

Read the rest of the article at
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-1024-city-opens-books-20131024,0,3215790.story#axzz2ifPH4BOe

While Los Angeles slowly marches forward towards the digital future via their Control Panel L.A., https://controllerdata.lacity.org/ we in South Florida can only look longingly at this sort of practical and common sense tool from a great distance and sigh wistfully...

And here's another transparency effort, building upon the successful use of CompStat by LAPD that will be the first major initiative of Mayor Eric Garcetti, who took office in June, which will track progress on goals from neighborhood concerns like pot hole to streetlight repair, on a computer system that residents can check online.

Mayor Garcetti Unveils First Major Initiative: Online Accountability Plan September 26, 2013 10:41 PM

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/09/26/mayor-garcetti-unveils-first-major-initiative-online-accountability-plan/

More on the effort to gets the facts and figures into the hands of taxpayers..

caforward YouTube Channel video: L.A. City Controller's plans for a more efficient, accessible city hall

"Los Angeles is one of the oldest cities in California. The City is rich with history. A lot of that history lays within City hall, with the data and information to tell a story. The City of Angels is also the most populous city in the state, with more than 3.7 million people. You'd think a city this large and this old would be at the forefront of technology. Well it's just the opposite. California Forward had the opportunity to sit down with the newly elected L.A. City Controller, Ron Galperin. He took office on July 1, 2013, as the 20th Controller. With less than two months under his belt, the Contoller explains his big plans to transform city hall."

Two-part interview. Uploaded August 27, 2013 http://youtu.be/95GoouHZTso

One on One with Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin

Uploaded September 3, 2013. http://youtu.be/I1idK1OuwTI

http://www.cafwd.org 

See also the videos at http://gov20la.silberberginnovations.com/

Hard news: Let's face it, NOT a lot of of bright spots (or backbone) for hard news reporting in South Florida since Ralph Renick said goodbye; Video: Ralph Renick driving on the Julia Tuttle Causeway towards Miami Beach in 1959, before it opened; Ralph Renick wasn't just a newsman's newsman, he was an attitude, an attitude my friends and I wish were more dominant here instead of the propensity for fluff

Wolfson Archive YouTube Channel video: A Soaring Tuttle Tribute. WTVJ-TV news anchor Ralph Renick, the founding anchor of Florida's first TV station, driving east on the Julia Tuttle Causeway from Miami to Miami Beach in 1959 to show viewers what it would be like, just before it opened. Renick is driving what the Wolfson Archives thinks is a 1959 Simca Aronde Oceane. Uploaded May 9, 2013.

http://youtu.be/tMuu8JauaKQ

I'm following up on my angry blog post of yesterday morning bemoaning and hectoring the two local South Florida newspapers -Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel- that insist -or is it persist?- in claiming that they're STILL major dailies, for their consistent lack of backbone and commitment to hard news coverage locally or nationally, by way of offering you three videos featuring South Florida's first TV news anchor and journalism icon, Ralph Renick.

For 36 years Renick's distinctive voice was the defining voice of Miami-area journalism and public policy, and for most of those years, he was the most well-known, most-recognized and most-respected man in all of South Florida. (Compare to now.)

Ralph Renick was a smart and shrewd man and cleverly used that power he'd earned over those many years in many very positive ways to help guide a somewhat-isolated and sometimes-youthful and unruly South Florida, towards becoming a more civic-minded place to live and work.
To not accept a poor work ethic and mediocrity and insist on high ideals in politicians and government officials so that when those standards sagged, they knew that he would goad them or go after them.

Renick was not only a man who anchored and reported on the news, but someone who, when he actually showed-up at a government or political event around the area, actually made that event news itself, and always caused a stir when he showed-up.

His being there made it news, and something that you would mention to other people the next day at work or school, back before you could immediately Tweet or blog about it with a photo to boot.

That trust and respect Renick earned came from being very demanding of himself and of the people at the TV station he was so widely identified with, which had a very positive national reputation within the TV news industry, too.

His influence on the reporters, producers and writers he hired and molded was profound, and since his general renown in the area, plus his status as station news director, which was and is very, very unusual, gave him lots of natural advantages that other stations couldn't compete with, like being able to groom young reporters in his serious image, but with their faces and talents, he could keep the standards very high, which only served to give the people who worked there a very real sense of well-earned satisfaction.

There's a reason that people like myself who grew-up or who lived here in the '70's can still remember the names of the field reporters at that station, and that is because they were very talented and worked very hard and didn't cut the corners on quality.
And, in many cases, were so good that many of them wound up working as national reporters for CBS News.
That these traits were also his traits only caused that station to hum in ways that most TV news operations never ever do.

For almost every month that Renick was the anchor, his 6 and 11 p.m. thirty-minute newscasts were the number-one newscast in the market, and the fact that he also did his trademark civics-minded editorials before signing-off and the intro to the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather, gave his newscasts an extra heft and punch that the three others couldn't match for most of his reign, even with talented people in place there, too.



August 25, 1982 Ralph Renick editorial on WTVJ-4, Miami, on the filming of Scarface in South Florida. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyuJGHrjbRY

I guess what I'm trying to say here today, is that when I talk here on the blog about news reporting and journalism, and doing things the right way, what most stands in contrast to how things are now is that Ralph Renick wasn't just a newsman's newsman, he was an attitude.
A professional arms-length relationship with people and personalities in the news.

I don't want anchors and reporters to be pals and chums with elected officials or Dolphin or Heat players or head coaches, and playing in their charity golf or tennis outings, I want them hungry to keep them honest and above board.

That's an attitude that I and many of my friends seldom see in this TV market now, despite amazing technological innovations that make their jobs easier, and which ought to make it easier as well to tell compelling stories in new and original ways.
But it isn't happening, especially at the newspapers, where things only seem to be getting worse quality-wise.

thecardsaysmoops YouTube Channel video: WTVJ / Miami News Open - November, 1970 - Ralph Renick's Six O'Clock newscast, with its famiar musical theme, which odds as it sounds right now, was actually a comforting sound back in the day, when yours truly was a nine-year old living in North Miami Beach when this took place.
Renick's last newscast for WTVJ was in March, 1985. He died in June of 1991.  http://youtu.be/aCVUJmoBN1M

Honestly, I never feel older than when I think about how influential Renick's newscasts were on me and my friends as kids growing-up in NMB in the 1970's, and our way of looking at South Florida and what it could be someday if only...

And naturally, I can't help but wish that this area now had more people who took their jobs as reporters or govt. officials or community leaders as least as seriously as I want them to take it -and as seriously as Ralph Renick took his big responsibilities- not only for myself, but also so that kids growing-up down here now would know that there are some people here entrusted with power and influence who really take their positions seriously, and don't cut corners and compromise on ethical standards and behavior, so that frivolity and excess are not always shown as the easiest way to go through life.

I want more serious, hard news coverage of local news and so does everyone I know and respect.

In the year 2013, it's fair to ask, "Where's the quality 24/7 Miami/FTL local news cable channel we need and deserve?"

"May the good news be yours..."

My previous four or five blog posts that mention Ralph Renick can be found here:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search?q=ralph+renick

Bruce Reed to succeed Al From as CEO of DLC, Democratic Leadership Council

March 6th, 2009 11:25 a.m.

I just received this email from Washington an hour ago regarding DLC founder and CEO Al From stepping down and Bruce Reed succeeding him.

Use the slider under Al's letter to read the entire thing.

After 24 years at the helm, I plan to step down this spring as chief executive officer of the Democratic Leadership Council. Bruce Reed, the DLC's president and former domestic policy advisor to President Clinton, will become CEO.  I am immensely proud of the DLC's success. The DLC has exceeded the dreams I had for it when I formed it in 1985 with a small group of reform-minded governors, senators, and house members.  It has played a vital role in resuscitating the Democratic Party, and it has championed ideas that have changed our country for the better.  For those who were not active in national politics in the mid 1980s, it may be hard to imagine the predicament in which the Democratic Party found itself. Akin to where the Republicans are today, Democrats were wandering in the political wilderness. We were out of power and out of ideas. The Democratic Party hit bedrock in 1984, losing 49 states in the presidential election for the second time in four elections. It was on the verge of political extinction as a national party, and many political observers believed that the Republicans had a lock on the White House.  We formed the DLC to change our party -- to redefine and rebuild it, to restore its sense of national purpose and its proper place as America's majority party. We believed that if we held firmly to the first principles of the Democratic Party but furthered those principles with fresh ideas and modern means; if we built a modern, progressive, centrist Democratic Party that tackled America's most difficult challenges with bold and innovative ideas, the American people would once again turn to us for national leadership.  That is what we did, and we proved the experts wrong. In 1992, Bill Clinton, former DLC chair, was elected President of the United States. Four years later, he became the first Democratic President in six decades to be re-elected.  Our political success was grounded in the ideas we championed -- bold and innovative reform ideas that challenged old orthodoxies. National service (AmeriCorps), an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, welfare reform, charter schools, community policing, expanded trade, fiscal responsibility, and re-inventing government -- all ideas the DLC championed -- have changed America for the better. Together they came to define a political brand -- identified with values like opportunity, responsibility, community, strength, service and reform. They helped redefine the Democratic Party and breathe new life into progressive politics.  Now, with a new Democratic President in the White House and strong majorities in both houses of congress and among statehouses, the mission we set out to achieve in 1985 has been accomplished and the first phase of the DLC's work is finished.  But our party and our country face new challenges. And, in its next phase, the DLC, under the leadership of Bruce Reed, will address them. Today, for all our political challenges, what matters most is coming up with ideas and solutions that work, and the new DLC will be devoted to the battle for reform and ideas, not politics. It will be a reform think tank dedicated to developing, promoting, and enacting an agenda as bold and pragmatic as America's new president. It will work closely with allies in Congress and the administration to make sure President Obama and his reform agenda succeeds. Its efforts outside Washington will focus on grooming the next generation of reformers. And, it will partner with other organizations to develop post-partisan policy solutions to the country's key challenges; build reform coalitions across party lines; produce impartial reports and analysis of what works and what doesn't; and provide a virtual home and online outlet for thinkers in both parties and around the country.  After I step down as CEO, I intend to take the time I have not had to write a book on political change and to pursue new avenues to fight for the ideas and values for which I have long stood. And, of course, I will always remain part of the DLC.  Sincerely,    Al From

Democratic Leadership Council | 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE | Suite 400 | Washington | DC | 20003

http://www.dlcppi.org/

Bruce Reed's blog at Slate.com, The Has-Been: NOTES FROM THE POLITICAL SIDELINES., is funny, insightful and anecdote-filled: http://www.slate.com/?id=3944&cp=2120447

Government Reform in California and Gov. Charlie Crist's 2009-10 Budget and Policy Recommendations

Meant to post this last night after receiving it earlier in the day via the governor's occasional email, but had to get some sleep in order to be at the Transportation Summit up in Fort Lauderdale this morning at 8 a.m.  (I'll have more on that event on Sunday, along with photos.) 

Contrary to popular understanding and myth, or should I say 'misunderstsnding,' the word crisis in Chinese is actually NOT the combination of the characters "danger" and "opportunity."

That said, in California, according to yesterday's Los Anglese Times, the depth of public anger at the crisis in Sacramento over the state budget may well represent an excellent opportunity to get some much needed reform there, especially in limiting the power of partisan ideologues, by initiating "open primaries" for state legislative races.

See Ezra Klein's thoughts on the likely results of such an effort at The American Prospect:

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=02&year=2009&base_name=open_primaries_in_california

and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_primary

Personally, I would greatly welcome such a reform-minded effort here in Florida -along with the passage of Lesley Blackner's Hometown Democracy effort which I've previously supported, see

http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com/ and

http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com/home2.html -as I believe they would greatly strengthen the hand of moderates in the legislature and begin to weaken the grip of conservatives and liberals from ridiculouly uncompetitive 'safe' districts, who rarely, if ever, have to be anything close to real Profiles in Courage, either in Tallahassee or back home in their districts.

The logical results of such skewed demographics and pandering to the base have been apparent across the state from Appalachicola to Aventura for quite some time.

I mean did you really think it's just a huge coincidence that the state is such a laughingstock nationally in so many areas?

Garbage in, garbage out. 

California's budget fiasco legacy could be reform

After the panic and embarrassment of the fiscal near-disaster, observers see an opportunity to finally fix how state government works.

By Michael Rothfeld and Eric Bailey

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-reform20-2009feb20,0,1370637.story

__________________________

 

February 20, 2009

 

Dear Friends,

 

Today, I unveiled my budget and policy recommendations for the 2009-10 fiscal year. My 2009 legislative priorities are aimed at investing wisely so that we can move Florida’s economy forward. These budget and policy proposals will make our classrooms world-class so that we train the best workforce possible. They will keep our air clean and diversify our energy. They will lower property taxes and ensure fiscal responsibility in local government. And they will help businesses thrive so they can create and retain the jobs that we need, now more than ever, to fuel our economy.

 

There is no doubt; these are historic times of economic challenge for our nation and for our state. But I believe that there are better days in store for Florida. Times like these provide a unique opportunity for elected officials to make government better, more efficient, and more accountable.

 

In developing my recommendations, my highest priority is to avoid further deficits – yet continue to move Florida’s economy forward. Now more than ever, we must create jobs for the hard-working people of Florida. Second, we must continue critical services to Florida’s most vulnerable – our children, elders, and persons with disabilities. And we must continue our investment in Florida’s classrooms and hard-working teachers, in public safety and in health care. The taxpayers of Florida deserve nothing less.

 

The $66.5-billion budget I propose includes $4.7 billion in federal stimulus dollars for 2009-10 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Without these funds, we would have had to tighten our belts another $3.4 billion. My budget proposal reflects Florida’s greatest needs – allocating $25.2 billion to Health and Human Services, $21.5 billion to education, and $10.3 billion to transportation and Economic Development. I also maintain my commitment to public safety, with $4.9 billion that will help keep criminals off the streets and our neighborhoods safe.

 

My recommendations include a significant increase in per-student funding: $183 more per student, for an average of $7,044 per student. That is increase of 2.67 percent over the current fiscal year.  The money we set aside for schools must be spent wisely. I want to thank Representative Robert Schenck and Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla for supporting legislation requiring our school districts to spend a minimum of 70 percent of operating funds on direct classroom expenditures benefiting students.

 

Strong universities are vital to creating the competitive workforce that will keep Florida’s economy vibrant for generations to come. I thank Senator Ken Pruitt and Representative Will Weatherford for supporting legislation that will clarify university governance and provide more teaching resources for Florida’s 11 universities -- while maintaining access and affordability for students and families. Under the proposal, each board of trustees may adopt a tuition differential beginning in fall 2009, with Board of Governors approval. Overall tuition cannot rise by more than 15 percent a year, and 30 percent of the revenues must go to need-based student financial aid.

 

Despite the economic challenges facing Florida, the Sunshine State has been recognized as a national leader in terms of our greatest resource – our workforce. To continue supporting Florida’s workforce, I recommend $2 billion in workforce initiatives, including over $800 million for career education and employment services that will create or retain 3,000 jobs. I also recommend $621.2 million for school readiness. This investment is expected to create or retain more than 12,800 jobs for child-care providers.

 

Continuing my commitment to public safety, I recommend $4.9 billion to maintain support for Florida’s increasing prison population and continue programs that reduce recidivism, prevent juvenile crime and keep violent criminals off the streets. My proposed budget also maintains funding to support local law enforcement agencies.

 

We must make every effort to preserve direct health care services to our children, our elderly, and our disabled populations. I am recommending an increase of $45 million for cash assistance and food stamps for families and their children, and $52 million to support an additional 46,000 children in the KidCare program.

 

We must continue our efforts, started in August with Accelerate Florida, to maintain Florida as a friendly place to do business. I am urging the passage of legislation sponsored by Senator Don Gaetz and Representative Trudi Williams that streamlines and reduces burdensome licensing requirements for contractors and other professionals.

 

Now more than ever, as families are faced with economic challenges, we must reduce the tax burden on Florida homeowners and business property owners. I propose a set of reforms that build upon previous legislation resulting in the largest property tax cut in state history.

 

I support the proposed constitutional amendment sponsored by Senator Evelyn Lynn and Representative Carl Domino that encourages homeownership and enhances the tax savings provided by Amendment One. It further reduces the growth cap on non-homestead residential and commercial properties from 10 percent to 5 percent. The amendment also grants a 50 percent exemption, up to $250,000, to homeowners who previously have not owned a home in Florida.

 

Legislation sponsored by Senator Mike Fasano and supported in the House by Representative Marcelo Llorente protects Florida homeowners from having to pay more in taxes when market values are declining. The proposal repeals the automatic three percent increase on the assessed value of homesteads when their market values decrease. In addition, legislation sponsored by Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera provides fairness for property owners who challenge the property appraiser’s assessment of their property value.

 

Local governments, like state government, must be accountable in how they spend taxpayer dollars. Legislation sponsored by Senator Mike Haridopolos and Representatives Dean Cannon and Anitere Flores keeps our local governments accountable by limiting increases in local revenues to inflation and growth, based on the value of new construction. Only through super-majority votes by governing bodies can revenues increase by more than the cap.

 

I again call on the Florida Legislature to quickly approve the 25-year compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Over time it can provide billions of dollars to Florida’s schools – with $150 million guaranteed in 2009-10 alone. The tribe also reports the compact can create 45,000 new jobs. I am also encouraging the Legislature to support SunRail, the proposed 61-mile commuter rail system that would serve Orlando and Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Osceola counties.  A recently released economic impact study found construction and operation of the commuter rail project will infuse more than $1 billion over the next 30 years into Florida’s economy and create more than 13,000 construction and operations jobs.

 

I look forward to working with the Legislature on these proposals. Together, we can put in place new laws that strengthen our economy and make life better for Floridians. May God continue to bless the great state of Florida for now and into the future.

 

  

 

 

 

Click here to see the Governor's video message: http://www.clickcaster.com/charliecrist